Talking Story Archives - Page 2 of 114

Pick up artists

Posted by Ken Campbell March 16, 2014 0 Comment 1993 views

One of these days, it will be sunny. We have had our share of blue sky already this winter, but it seems like it usually finds a way to rain during scheduled beach cleanup days. Not that it mattered all that much yesterday. There were between 20 and 30 of us, kids and adults alike, […]

Epiphany

Posted by Ken Campbell March 10, 2014 0 Comment 2244 views

I remember it well, although it would be difficult to put an exact date on that one particular long-ago morning. There is so much I have forgotten through the years, as time eats away at memories like rust through a fence post, but I can still see me sitting there on the curb at the […]

Race to the bottom

Posted by Ken Campbell March 10, 2014 0 Comment 1830 views

“A tree falls the way it leans. Be careful which way you lean.” Dr. Seuss It was kind of ironic, me and the boy inside on such a rainy day, watching the Lorax on Netflix when this log ship goes by the house, loaded for Asia. So, while we’re watching the Dr. Seuss morality play […]

Done

Posted by Ken Campbell March 2, 2014 0 Comment 1941 views

If you hear the phrase, “The end of an era,” used often enough, there’s a risk you might not notice when an actual era does come to an end, when a section of history is cut out of the ongoing strand of time and is set to the side. It will happen in a few […]

Bare trees of February

Posted by Ken Campbell February 20, 2014 0 Comment 1932 views

A few minutes ago every tree was excited, bowing to the roaring storm, waving, swirling, tossing their branches in glorious enthusiasm like worship. But though to the outer ear these trees are now silent, their songs never cease. John Muir

An open letter to David Zeeck

Posted by Ken Campbell February 17, 2014 0 Comment 4388 views

David Zeeck is the Publisher of the Tacoma News Tribune. His piece in Sunday’s issue is a defense of the ad-bombing that the TNT is now doing all over its circulation area, delivering unwanted litter to Tacoma’s streets, gutters and the waters of Puget Sound. I couldn’t just let his column lie there unanswered. A […]

Return to sender

Posted by Ken Campbell February 15, 2014 0 Comment 2011 views

I will have more to write about this foolishness later. For now, a simple introduction is in order. The bags you see in the photo contain advertising circulars from retailers of all sizes. These plastic ad-bombs are then launched into yards, onto sidewalks and roadways, and many eventually find their way to the storm drains. […]

Out there

Posted by Ken Campbell February 10, 2014 0 Comment 1949 views

There is something about La Push in February. It is not that it is beautiful. It is always beautiful. The sweep of the beach, the way that the sunrise seems to set James Island ablaze and make me stand slack-jawed on the sand, just me, the dog, and a pair of gulls. A private show. […]

Winter?

Posted by Ken Campbell February 3, 2014 0 Comment 2003 views

It’s been a warm start to February. It is unlikely to last, but I am enjoying it for now. The tidal exchanges have been big this week, salty wavelets licking against the pilings of my shed, then water flowing northward so fast it seems like I can almost hear the rapids ahead. The tide level […]

Precipitation and memory

Posted by Ken Campbell January 29, 2014 0 Comment 2043 views

In Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1953, there was a rainy day record of 101 days in a row. That same year, Seattle set its record of 33 days. It has been raining around these parts for a long time. Not lately, though. There are changes in the weather all over the place; western Washington is no […]